Analysis of RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, SCHEHERAZADE, mm. 1-13

The opening 6 measures is a "unison" passage that descends. Its highest pitch is E4, which makes it dark, and it uses all instruments that can play the soprano notes of the line except the horns and trumpets. The horns and trumpets are omitted after the first note possibly because they would not in be in their best playing registers. The line of the first 6 measures is doubled in three octaves. The tuba leaves the lowest octave in m. 2, again, possibly because the composer thought that, if it continued, it would not sound its best that low, and that it would sound more effective in the middle octave from that point. In m. 3 the trill is not given to to the trombones, tuba, or bass. It could have been given to the tuba and bass, but Rimsky might have thought their trills would be unclear. In the two scores I've seen, the marking for the clarinets shows a trill sign above the staff only, which could mean that the second clarinet does not trill. I assume that it does. The effect of some instruments trilling while others do not is, to my ear, a bit muddy or "messy." The violins do not play the last note before the GP, of course, because they can't. This is not noticed because there enough instruments--especially the trombones--that do play it with strength. After the GP, the trombones are omitted, with a considerably softening effect that is more effectively achieved than a simple "diminuendo" mark would be, and it enforces a change of color. The low clarinets emerge here. The next passage is a woodwind group that sets a simple, chorus-like phrase in a very non-straightforward manner. This passage surely was inspired by the beginning of Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream overture, which it resembles in obvious ways. M. 8: The middle register clarinets enclose the low register flutes. M. 9: fl. 1 crosses over cl. 1 to continue the soprano while cl. 1 crosses over both flutes to take the tenor. The clarinets are in their weakest register and the vibrato of the flutes (as opposed to the non-vibrato of the clarinets) gives greater warmth to the passage. Otherwise, the change in color from clarinet to flute in the soprano is hardly noticeable because of their respective registers. M. 10: As the texture expands in contrary motion of the outer parts, bn. 1 enters on a relatively weak G4, taking over the tenor line from cl. 1 and avoiding parallel fifths in the clarinets. Entering in the middle of the texture, its new sound (double reed) is less noticeable than it would be as the bass. (In the Mendelssohn overture, instruments are added with each chord, and always BELOW the previous notes.) M. 11: Here is a considerable change in scoring, one that matches the change in tonal implication (the F# major triad, which implies V in B minor, is surprising after the modal E minor beginning): fl. 1 drops out (if it continued, it might be superflous?) and is replaced by ob. 2 while ob. 1 doubles fl.1 (the first unison doubling). It is in this pitch area that the flutes and oboes match most in quality and strength; thus the change in color is the least it could be for these instruments. But the passage becomes suddenly more intense with the introduction of three more double reeds--bn. 2 joins in, like bn. 1, as an inner voice to minimize intrusiveness, while cl. 2 continues as a warm and increasingly resonant bass. M. 12: In the final chord the flutes double the oboes an octave higher in the soprano and alto. Along with that, the cl. 1 suddenly jumps up over the oboes and flutes (of m. 11) to double the 2nd alto note A while cl. 2 likewise crosses the bassoons to double the bass an octave higher. The bassoons unite on the bass note that "should have been given to cl. 2," while hn. 1 enters to take the tenor that "should have been given to bn. 1," again, disguising its presence by being surrounded, pitch-wise. The register of the horn is borderline in terms of balance--very much higher, and it would become rather intense. The final chord completes the gradual increase in the number of instruments while keeping the spacing between instruments vertically and reinforces the implied crescendo by the increased strength of the flutes and cl. 1, which are now in stronger registers, adding to the greater intensity of more double reed instruments. The manipulation of the lower instruments avoids parallel fifths in every chord change! The sudden octave doubling of the soprano prepares the surprising and effective entrance of the solo violin on E6, which, with the harp (playing the whole chord an octave lower), suggests an abrupt scene change to the heroine, singing to the harp! The crossings of instrumental lines are less noticeable than they might be in other scorings because the instruments are all woodwinds (including horn?) and mostly in inner parts and because the overall voice-leading (irrespective of scoring choices) is mostly stepwise.